Rifled gun-barrel



' J. W. CARVER.

RLFLBD GUN BARREL.

Patented Sept. 22, 1891.

dgn/mid m {aM/wu (No Model.)

UNITED STATEs PATENT OEEICE.

JAMES VOOI) CARVER, OF PAXVLET, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR, BY hlfESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF 'lWO-TIIIR'DS TO GEORGE Il. CARVER, OF NATIONAL CITY, CALIFORNIA.

RIFLED GUN-BARREL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,102, dated September 22, 1891.

Application lilo October 22, 1888. Serial No.283.770. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

le it known that l, JAMES Woon CARVER., of Pawlet, in the county of Rutland and State of Vermont, have invented an Improvement inV Rilied Gun-Barrels, of which the following is n specification.

Rilled gun-barrels heretofore made are usually'provided with helical grooves extending from the chamber or breech of the gun to the muzzle, so as to comm nnicate a rotary motion to the projectile as it is driven along the gun. In this instance, however, the projectile is not smooth upon its exterior surface, and the tins that are formed thereon are liable to divert the project-ile in its flight and render the aim inaccurate. Efforts have been made to avoid `this by lessening the dept-h of the ridinggrooves gradually, so that they die out, or nearly so, at the muzzle.

In my present improvements the rillingt grooves are the saule depth from end to end,

and they do not extend to the muzzle, but stop short thereof a sniiicient distance for the bore of the gnu to be smooth. and slightly smallerthan the rest of the here. Thereby the proj cctile receives the necessary rotary movementin passing through the barrel by the action of the riding-grooves; but such pro- `ieotile or the base thereof is slightly compressed in passing through the smaller portion of the bore of the gun, and in so doing the lns or projections that have fitted into the riding-grooves are entirely removed and the exterior of the projectile is smoothed, so that there are no tins or projections to interfere with the flight ol the projectile.

This improvement is especially useful in hand lire-arms; but the saine may be used in cannon or large ordnance.

In the drawings, Figure l represents my improvement by a longitudinal section of the barrel. Fig. 2 is a cross-section at the line o; a?, and Fig. 3 is across-section at the line y y, the two latter figures being in larger size.

Usually the barrel A is provided with a chamber B at the rear end for the recept-ion ol the cartridge, it being understood that my improvements are available only with brocoliloadlng tire-arms. 'lhe ri lling-grooves C) are of ordinary depth and number, and they extend from the chamber B to near the muzzle E, and their fo rvvard ends terminate or die ont by short inclincs from the bottoms of the grooves to thesurface of the bore, and the bore of the barrel from the ends of the ril-linggroovesto themuzzle Eis slighllysmallerthan the portion of the here which is rillod. This smoothed portion is comparatively short, in order that the rotation of the projectile upon its axis may not be impeded materially, and when the piece is lred the projectile or the soft-metal hase thereof is expanded into the rilling-grooves,and these give to the projectile a rotation about its axis, and when the projectile reaches the ends of the rillinggrooves it is very slightly compressed-say, about the two-hundredth part of au inch in an ordinary'rille-and this renders the exterior of the projectile smooth and uniform and there is no escape of gases around the projectile, and the whole force of the explosion isconcentrated in giving to the projectile a maximum speed as it passes ont ot the' muzzle.

I claim as my inventionj The barrel forbreeeh-load i n g lire-arms, having riding-grooves of uniform depth extending from the chamber or breech to near the muzzle, and the bore of the lire-'arm smoothed from the ends of the riding-groove to the muzzle and of a slightly smaller diameter than the rest of the bore, substantially as set forth. 4 4

, Signed by me this 12th day of October, A. D.'1SSS.

JAMES WOOD CARVER.

l-Vitnesses:

DANIEL W. BEOMLEY, J'ENNIE SoULLr. 

